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To everyone who joined these forums at some point, and got discouraged by the negativity and left after a while (or even got literally scared off): I'm sorry.

I wasn't good enough at encouraging people to be kinder, and removing people who refuse to be kind. Encouraging people is hard, and removing people creates conflict, and I hate conflict... so that's why I wasn't better at it.

I was a very, very sensitive teen. The atmosphere of this forum as it is now, if it had existed in 1996, would probably have upset me far more than it would have helped.

I can handle quite a lot of negativity and even abuse now, but that isn't the point. I want to help people. I want to help the people who need it the most, and I want to help people like the 1996 version of me.

I'm still figuring out the best way to do that, but as it is now, these forums are doing more harm than good, and I can't keep running them.

Thank you to the few people who have tried to understand my point of view so far. I really, really appreciate you guys. You are beautiful people.

Everyone else: If after everything I've said so far, you still don't understand my motivations, I think it's unlikely that you will. We're just too different. Maybe someday in the future it might make sense, but until then, there's no point in arguing about it. I don't have the time or the energy for arguing anymore. I will focus my time and energy on people who support me, and those who need help.

-SoulRiser

The forums are mostly read-only and are in a maintenance/testing phase, before being permanently archived. Please use this time to get the contact details of people you'd like to keep in touch with. Send me a message if you'd like to keep in touch with me & Steve.

Please do not make a mirror copy of the forums in their current state - things will still change, and some people have requested to be able to edit or delete some of their personal info.

You've probably heard this saying before but don't know what it means. That's okay, most people don't either. It doesn't really make sense at first, because when you take it at face value, what does it signify? Time is currency? Well, how can it get me things?

Well, first off, you're thinking it the wrong way. Time is not currency, but it shares one thing in common with currency; they're both theoretical. Currency is based on consumer confidence, whereas time is based on human perception. The modern calendar (Gregorian calendar) is sometimes used alongside other calendars (such as Hebrew, Hindu, Islamic, and Thai). If people didn't exist, time wouldn't really exist, either.

Time though, is not purely infinite. Everyone dies in the end. This is fact. Billions of people have died through history. You may be alive today but you may not be alive tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, the next decade, etc, the point is you'll die eventually. I remember a girl in my 9th grade English class was freaking out over a potential gas leak in the school and said "I don't want to die!" and the teacher said, "yes you'll die! you'll die eventually!". It was stark but it made sense; teenagers don't really think of death much because they're in their "prime years". For them, death is no worry. (There was no gas leak by the way)

So, should I worry about death?
No. Excessively worrying about death and the afterlife is pointless, because it takes you away from the present moment. It's a fine thought to ponder it, but not to make it an anxiety.

So, what are you telling me?
I'm telling you to be efficient. We've already covered how the first assumption of the saying "time is money" isn't very sane because time isn't currency. However, think of it this way: think of time as an investment, like a stock market. Ask yourself, "when I do this, or buy this, what am I getting in return?". It's a very simple question that can help gradually change your life (I'm not promising a miracle fix).

Do you get much from your investments in YouTube videos? School? Video games? Ask yourself these questions.

The key word here is efficiency. I like to tell myself to do something productive every day, at least one awesome thing that makes me better. It can be exercise, reading a book, etc. One must use their time constructively.

It was a few years ago I reached that peaceful conclusion that death was ultimately the inevitable outcome of life and that spending time worrying about what I hadn't done till death was meaningless, because upon death, existence would be meaningless. So I just plan for the future, live in the present, and learn from the past.

It may sound easy, but per eastern philosophy/religion, there's actually a difference from knowing death is finality and actually understanding it within yourself. Kind of like a case of "believe with your heart, not your mind" scenario. Otherwise, it's more like a justification or excuse rather than something you adopt to your conscious identity.

Eh, I'm still grappling at my thoughts at what actually happens after death. Perhaps nothing, perhaps something. But ultimately, I've kind of come to the conclusion that it's pointless to search for "the meaning of life" or shit like that because you'll never find out in your present lifetime.

In the end, you'll never know everything. This makes even more sense when you consider you only experience things through your own body and eyes.

A few years ago I stopped falling for the notion that dying is inherently unavoidable. It's only unavoidable if people say it is. It's clear that society tries to hamper doctors from doing their job.

The school requirements for doctors are the worst/most ridiculous of all professions. And unlike with most other jobs, you can't just start your own business because you will get into all sorts of legal trouble while the quacks walk free - and you'll be mistaken for one.

Age discrimination has a big part in this too; when a child is sick, a hospital will not rest until they're COMPLETELY cured. When an 'old' person is sick, they consider that "normal" and not mind as much if they don't succeed.

Time is way more important and valuable than money, because it's such a finite resource. People say they "make time" for stuff, but that's impossible. Time passes regardless of what you do, you can never make more of it. You can however make more money.

So:
Time >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Money

A fun browser extension to install is Mortality (only for Chrome I think). Every time you open a new tab, it tells you exactly how old you are, down to the millisecond. So if you were about to Google some random mindless entertainment thing, and you see those numbers increasing like that, it really does make you think twice about what you were going to do with that tab.

Support School Survival on Patreon or Donate Bitcoin Here: 1Q5WCcxWjayniaL92b8GfXBiGdfjmnUNa2"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it." - André Paul Guillaume Gide"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." - Albert Einstein"I'm pretty sure there's a lot of beauty that can only be found in the mind of a lunatic." - TheCancerEIPD - Emotionally Incompetent Parent Disorder

(04-02-2017 03:31 AM)Jop Wrote: A few years ago I stopped falling for the notion that dying is inherently unavoidable. It's only unavoidable if people say it is. It's clear that society tries to hamper doctors from doing their job.

Jop, I think you're on the right path. Except when you realize that billions of people before you died, and your ancestors birthed you.

I like that you are questioning the concept of death and what it actually means, from a philosophical and practical point of view. Some people say that death is what it is. Other people take that death is some kind of act that's supposed to keep things in check.

In the end I think that one concept that a person needs to get rid of is the idea that things are "good" or "bad. Things aren't really "good" or "bad", but just that, things. The notion that "God doesn't exist because he lets bad things happen to good people" is pointless because it ignores the fact that even a shitty thing can lead to something good. One example is slavery; nowadays slavery is considered to be an evil thing, but how many people who created invaluable things today came from that system?

I'm going to put this Elliot Hulse video here which I think perfectly sums it up.

(04-02-2017 03:53 AM)SoulRiser Wrote: Time is way more important and valuable than money, because it's such a finite resource. People say they "make time" for stuff, but that's impossible. Time passes regardless of what you do, you can never make more of it. You can however make more money.

So:
Time >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Money

A fun browser extension to install is Mortality (only for Chrome I think). Every time you open a new tab, it tells you exactly how old you are, down to the millisecond. So if you were about to Google some random mindless entertainment thing, and you see those numbers increasing like that, it really does make you think twice about what you were going to do with that tab.

Technically, time is a theoretical concept, so you can't really create it. Time is always moving in the now. Everything happens in the now. What you do will lead to another thing.

Also, that browser extension sounds awesome. It reminds me how in 2013 I used to just browse this site, YouTube, and Wikipedia almost fucking endlessly and even then I realized how fucking depressing that cycle was, but alas, I had no damn initiative.

Support School Survival on Patreon or Donate Bitcoin Here: 1Q5WCcxWjayniaL92b8GfXBiGdfjmnUNa2"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it." - André Paul Guillaume Gide"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." - Albert Einstein"I'm pretty sure there's a lot of beauty that can only be found in the mind of a lunatic." - TheCancerEIPD - Emotionally Incompetent Parent Disorder

Quote:Technically, time is a theoretical concept, so you can't really create it. Time is always moving in the now. Everything happens in the now. What you do will lead to another thing.

Actually yes, time only 'exists' because we perceive it to exist. If it exists on its own, it's probably infinite, and it's just our lifespan that is limited.

In the same way, money only has value because we believe it does. So how much of our lifespan do we waste on 'earning' this worthless thing? It's crazy.

Actually to be more accurate until 1971 currency was generally backed by gold and silver, because currency used to be made through these finite sources. Of course, now money is backed by confidence.

I hate to say it, but that "worthless thing" is responsible for why a lot of stuff is built, why wars are fought, how elections are won and lost and how decisions are made. My point is that both time and money are essentially, theoretical. But damn, do they both have a huge influence.

Quote:I hate to say it, but that "worthless thing" is responsible for why a lot of stuff is built, why wars are fought, how elections are won and lost and how decisions are made. My point is that both time and money are essentially, theoretical. But damn, do they both have a huge influence.

Yup. I keep feeling torn between hating money and wanting nothing to do with it, and wanting tons of it so I can change stuff in the world.

Support School Survival on Patreon or Donate Bitcoin Here: 1Q5WCcxWjayniaL92b8GfXBiGdfjmnUNa2"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it." - André Paul Guillaume Gide"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." - Albert Einstein"I'm pretty sure there's a lot of beauty that can only be found in the mind of a lunatic." - TheCancerEIPD - Emotionally Incompetent Parent Disorder